UCLA doesn’t just have a sixth man to thank. It also has a seventh, or even eighth.

Reserves use up 30.8 percent of UCLA’s minutes on the floor, fourth-most in the Pac-12. The freshman backcourt of Zach LaVine and Bryce Alford entered Thursday’s game against Stanford averaging 20.0 of UCLA’s 84.4 points per game.

Alford subbed in against the Cardinal at 14:02 having missed his last 11 field goal attempts, a drought stretching back two games. After missing his first against Stanford, he finally broke through with a twisting fast-break layup, deftly avoiding a leaping defender. He missed two more shots, but notched three steals.

LaVine did work, too. His shot selection has been suspect at times this season, but the athletic guard makes enough of them that forgiveness comes easy.

He drilled UCLA’s first 3-pointer of the game with a more than four minutes left in the first half — a leaning jumper that somehow spun into the rim. LaVine also dished out three assists.

“We’ve talked a little bit to Zach and Bryce both about it,” said head coach Steve Alford. “It might not have been known a month ago. Now … there’s plenty of tape out. Now you’re on the board as a scout, because both of them have had big scoring nights.

“You go to the bench, and our momentum changes. There’s a lot of things that they’ve done very, very well. They’re not your typical bench guys.”

They showed as much against Stanford.

An 19-3 run late in the first half helped the Bruins open up an 11-point lead at halftime. Much of the impressive stretch came with starting guards Jordan Adams and Kyle Anderson on the bench.

Sophomore big man Tony Parker, relegated to the bench after Travis Wear’s return from an appendectomy, led the game with 10 points.

Lack of charity

In a 74-69 loss at Utah last weekend, UCLA took just eight free throws, a season-low by five attempts.

Not coincidentally, Adams found himself strangely absent from the charity stripe. It was his second game this season without at least one free throw attempt.

He had entered Thursday ranked 15th in the Pac-12 in free-throw rate, one spot behind Anderson.

The ignominious streak didn’t end early against the Cardinal. Holding a 42-31 lead at halftime, the Bruins took just four free throws in the first half — all by Parker. The 6-foot-9 big man made two.

Alford connection

Steve Alford is coaching his son Bryce for the first time, but he said his experience working with his eldest son has helped.

Kory Alford was a walk-on at New Mexico who played 10 games as a redshirt freshman before following his father to Los Angeles.

“Kory’s the one that deserves that credit,” Steve said. “Kory’s done a really good job during the move preparing Bryce for what it’s like.”

Jack Wang covers the Chargers, the latest NFL team to relocate to Los Angeles. He previously covered the Rams, and also spent four years on the UCLA beat, a strange period in which the Bruins' football program often outpaced their basketball team. He is a proud graduate of UC Berkeley, where he spent most of his time in The Daily Californian offices in Eshleman Hall — a building that did not become earthquake-safe until after his time on campus.

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